In as much as the NFAP was able to actualise two of its three objectives, its inability to proceed further was a serious setback for the programme in Nigeria. Important factors that contributed to this include the following:
(1) Political Instability: The designation of Nigeria as a pariah nation when the planning phase actually commenced contributed in no small measure to reducing the gains from the programme.
Specifically, international aid agencies were not willing to invest in any assistance programme in the country. A case in point was the Department for International Development (DFID then referred to as (ODA). The DFID was to provide a significant support in the form of 100million pounds Country Capacity Project (CCP), which designated some institutions in the country for upgrading and to deliver training programmes in various areas of forestry. This was to equally assist in the planning of the NFAP. However, due to political instability, the ODA that had completed the project document-awaiting signature did not show any interest in pursuing the CCP. Thus an important component for institutional strengthening that would have provided the expertise to successfully conclude the process was lost.
(2) Novelty of idea: The Nigeria Forestry Sector has been used to Top- Bottom approaches to developing programmes and projects, thus the novel idea that they would need to go through a series of data collection, collation and analysis phase was a hard sell at the initial phase.
(3) Ineffective political support: In spite of the attempts by the NFAP to muster adequate representation at the highest level of governance, as reflected in the National Advisory Council, there was a general attitude of indifference by the members of the Council. This is shown by the fact that it was only the Minister of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources - Chairman of Council – that attended council meetings in person. The other Ministers on the council usually send in representatives, who most often were not able to muster the political clout required for advancing the NFAP course in their respective ministries.
(4) Late Placement of Requisite Personnel: The commencement of the programme was hinged on the placement of requisite personnel. The technical guidance was to be provided by a Chief Technical Advisor (CTA), who was to have been recruited in 1992. However, this was not possible until 1993. This invariably caused delay in the execution of some aspects of the programme.
(5) Late disbursement of funds: The arrangements for disbursement of funds for the day to day running of the NFAP was very cumbersome, with the result that funds were always received by the NCU very late. This was associated with the modality for fund disbursement. Requests were made to the World Bank office in Washington, who then instructed their office in Lagos to release funds. The time lag between requests to Washington and release by the Resident Mission in Lagos sometimes led to activities from one quarter being two or at times three quarters behind schedule.
(6). Non-Release of Counterpart funding: The Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) was to take care of certain expenses in the portfolio of the NFAP apart from staff salaries. However, it was only consistent with the payment of staff salaries while it scarcely released funds for other major activities. This resulted in either these activities not being carried out or at times pinching the UNDP funds to carry them out.
(7) Inability to form Committees at the LGA Levels: The NFAP was supposed to form technical committees at the Local Government Level for effective dissemination of the principles of the programme to the grassroots. However, this was not achieved and led to the low level of grassroots participation in some states.
(8) Inability to convene Round Table Conference of Partners:
The inability to convene a Round Table Conference of Partners is a major factor contributing to the non-implementation of the NFAP in Nigeria. This conference if convened would have provided the country the opportunity to market its ideas to the international community and this would readily access funds for the implementation of some of the programmes identified in the NFAP report.
(9) Antagonism at the International Level: Initially, a lot of heat was generated as to whether the TFAP was not the usual top-down capitalist approach to money making disguised as an international problem solving tool before its revamping. This encouraged apathy from the donor community to the extent that they threatened withdrawing funding if the TFAP was not taken out of FAO control and greater environmental safeguards are implemented (Kreilick, 1991). This, of course, was bound to affect the Nigerian process to some extent. It would have been better if the quarrel had concentrated on implementation and revamping of concept as was later done and not to “throw away the baby with the bath water”.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The proceeding chapters of this report have taken a cursory look at the National Forest Programmes in Nigeria and this has provided the basis for drawing the following conclusions.
1. Lack of fund, shortage of equipment and insufficiently trained personnel thwart forestry administration at the three tiers of government. The forestry staff are therefore not effectively engaged while forestry operations are neglected.
2. Forestry development in Nigeria started on a good note, with sound management practices, which unfortunately disappeared with time. In recent times most forest resources have been mined or abandoned without routine maintenance and are being threatened by encroachment.
3. The country has made several concerted efforts at evolving appropriate National Forest Programmes, which would ensure the efficient management of her forest resources. However, most of these efforts have not yielded the desired result as the problems plaguing the sector still persist.
4. The country took the right decision by embracing the concept of TFAP and the approach adopted in the process has largely succeeded in addressing the inherent lapses in the sector.
5. The impact of NFAP on the condition of Forest resources is not as glaring as with the creation of a conducive environment for the actualisation of reforms suggested in the programme. The NFAP has engendered actions leading to the review of Forestry Policy and legislation. It has also facilitated some crucial changes in the area of policy, legislation and institution, which are being internalised through the continual interaction of policy makers that appreciate the importance of the NFAP.
The most important policy tools that emerged as a result of the NFAP process is the adoption of a bottom-up approach and dialoguing amongst the relevant stakeholders. This is noticeable with the recent programmes developed at both the Federal and State levels.
The NFAP has changed the perception of the policy makers and planners from their erroneous believe that forestry does not contribute much to the country’s economy. At least most of the sectors now appreciate the roles of forestry and the possible influence on their programmes.
The country has developed the requisite capacity to regularly update the national Forest programmes. This status is better developed at the Federal level through the experience gained from the various Internationally funded programmes supervised by the Federal Department of Forestry.
The current level of goods and services from the Forest base can not satisfy the country’s requirements and this trend might continue for some time except appropriate steps are taken. The country records deficit in Industrial wood, Fuelwood, NTFPs and Ecological services.
The Forestry Sector suffers from low investment from both the public and private sectors. The various governments have not been providing sufficient funds to execute forestry programmes while the private sector participation has been dampened by long gestation period of tree crops and land tenure system. The only appreciable financial lifeline has come more from the international community.
The country’s Forest Revenue system is not fully developed to generate the required financial resources for forest management. A better portion of the proceeds from the Forests go to the Forest exploiters who pay peanuts for the forest goods. It is apparent therefore that the current level of Inputs and Outputs can not sustain a viable National Forest Programme.
The fact that the country has not started implementing the NFAP, notwithstanding, notable successes have bee recorded during the planning process.
The conclusions presented above have captured the situation of the Forest Resources and aroused curiosity on some areas of concern. The following recommendations are therefore made as possible interventions towards a sustainable forestry development in the country
More funds should be put into Forestry development in Nigeria. Other non-traditional sources of funds for Forestry development should be exploited. This could include the NGOs and Religious organisations.
The tenets of good and sustainable Forest Management should be imbibed. Forestry management should be taken as a serious business where prerequisite management procedures are religiously followed.
The country should sustain the gains of NFAP by ensuring that the salient principles are imbedded in the future Forestry Management and planning. The Federal Department of Forestry should develop a checklist of procedures to follow when formulating or implementing forestry pro grammes.
Concrete steps must be taken to address the deficit prevalent in the production of goods and services. This may include the use of Forestry Departments in aggressive plantation establishment and the encouragement of the people in social Forestry. The local communities should be properly educated on the importance of Forests and the need to respect basic Forest management principles. The immense potential of NTFPs must be fully harnessed, while alternative source of energy should be explored.
There is urgent need to overhaul the present Revenue System towards generating more funds for Forestry development. The state government should be encouraged to show more commitment to the Forestry Trust Fund. The various reports on the country’s Revenue system should be harmonised and their recommendations implemented. Infact the possibility of giving legal backing to FTF should be explored.
The Forestry Departments should embark on intensive awareness campaign and public enlightenment to sustain the gains of the NFAP planning phases while still awaiting full implementation.
The country should take advantage of the current favourable political climate to draw international attention to the precarious forestry situation thereby arousing their financial support. The Federal Department of Forestry should open talk with International funding agencies on the various programme proposals stalled by previous inclement political disposition.
The private sector should be further encouraged in Forestry development through a package of new incentives and sustenance of the existing ones.
The political will must be secured to ensure that Forestry initiatives are respected. Forestry officials should interact intimately with the political office holders through their involvement in seminars, workshops and enlightenment programmes.
The Round Table Conference should be convened with dispatch. This would provide the opportunity to review the NFAP against the backdrop of contemporary development in the Forestry Sector.
The various Governments should give proper attention to the implementation of the recently approved Forestry development programme and recommendations of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on combating Desertification and Deforestation. The country should also look for other sources of fund to implement the NFAP.
There is an urgent need to put in place the necessary mechanism that would ensure an appropriate pricing of forest products. Similarly, the benefits accruable from the forests should be properly valued to reflect their importance to the country.
Sharp practices must be discouraged in revenue generation process so as to capture more funds dearly required for forestry development.
There is the need to revisit the land tenure system with particular reference to empowerment of the private sector to have easier assess to land for forestry programmes.
Community participation in forestry programmes should go beyond enlisting their support, rather the local communities should be made to benefit fully from the resources available in their neighbouring forests.
